Reeva,
I love this!  Thanks for the laugh and thanks for the blessing intended in 
the message.


Virgie and lady Hoshi
doing business at

www.vunderwood.ktostemtech.com
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Reeva Parry" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, June 15, 2007 2:00 PM
Subject: Gold, Common Sense And Fur


> By Linda C. Stafford
>
> My husband and I had been happily (most of the time) married for five 
> years
> but hadn't been blessed with a baby. I decided to do some serious praying
> and
> promised God that if he would give us a child, I would be a perfect 
> mother,
> love it with all my heart and raise it with his word as my guide. God
> answered
> my prayers and blessed us with a son. The next year God blessed us with
> another son. The following year, he blessed us with yet another son. The
> year after
> that we were blessed with a daughter. My husband thought we'd been blessed
> right into poverty. We now had four children, and the oldest was only four
> years
> old. I learned never to ask God for anything unless I meant it. As a
> minister once told me, "If you pray for rain, make sure you carry an
> umbrella." I
> began reading a few verses of the Bible to the children each day as they 
> lay
> in their cribs. I was off to a good start. God had entrusted me with four
> children and I didn't want to disappoint him. I tried to be patient the 
> day
> the children smashed two dozen eggs on the kitchen floor searching for 
> baby
> chicks. I tried to be understanding when they started a hotel for homeless
> frogs in the spare bedroom, although it took me nearly two hours to catch
> all
> twenty-three frogs. When my daughter poured ketchup all over herself and
> rolled up in a blanket to see how it felt to be a hot dog, I tried to see
> the
> humor rather than the mess. In spite of changing over twenty-five thousand
> diapers, never eating a hot meal and never sleeping for more than thirty
> minutes
> at a time, I still thank God daily for my children. While I couldn't keep 
> my
> promise to be a perfect mother - I didn't even come close - I did keep my
> promise to raise them in the Word of God. I knew I was missing the mark 
> just
> a little when I told my daughter we were going to church to worship God, 
> and
> she wanted to bring a bar of soap along to "wash up" Jesus, too. Something
> was lost in the translation when I explained that God gave us everlasting
> life,
> and my son thought it was generous of God to give us his "last wife." My
> proudest moment came during the children's Christmas pageant. My daughter
> was
> playing Mary, two of my sons were shepherds and my youngest son was a wise
> man. This was their moment to shine. My five-year-old shepherd had 
> practiced
> his line, "We found the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes." But he was
> nervous and said, "The baby was wrapped in wrinkled clothes." My
> four-year-old "Mary"
> said, "That's not 'wrinkled clothes,' silly. That's dirty, rotten 
> clothes."
> A wrestling match broke out between Mary and the shepherd and was stopped 
> by
> an angel, who bent her halo and lost her left wing. I slouched a little
> lower in my seat when Mary dropped the doll representing Baby Jesus, and 
> it
> bounced
> down the aisle crying, "Mama-mama." Mary grabbed the doll, wrapped it back
> up and held it tightly as the wise men arrived. My other son stepped 
> forward
> wearing a bathrobe and a paper crown, knelt at the manger and announced, 
> "We
> are the three wise men, and we are bringing gifts of gold, common sense 
> and
> fur." The congregation dissolved into laughter, and the pageant got a
> standing ovation. "I've never enjoyed a Christmas program as much as this
> one,"
> laughed the pastor, wiping tears from his eyes "For the rest of my life,
> I'll never hear the Christmas story without thinking of gold, common sense
> and
> fur." "My children are my pride and my joy and my greatest blessing," I 
> said
> as I dug through my purse for an aspirin. Jesus had no servants, yet they
> called Him Master. Had no degree, yet they called Him Teacher. Had no
> medicines, yet they called Him Healer. Had no army, yet kings feared Him. 
> He
> won
> no military battles, yet He conquered the world. He committed no crime, 
> yet
> they crucified Him. He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today. Feel
> honored
> to serve such a Leader who loves us.
>
> If you believe in God and , send this to all on your buddy list.
>
> GOD BLESS YOU ALL